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How will EU Enlargement effect the tourism industry in Europe?
The follwing text is taken from the Report from the international conference “A new Tourism for a new Europe” held on March 13, 2004 and organised by Messe Berlin GmbH (Berlin Trade Fair Ltd.) and N.I.T. (Institut für Tourismus- und Bäderforschung in Nordeuropa GmbH).
Impacts of EU-enlargement on Tourism: Powerful marketing in a complex development process
When on May 1, 2004, ten additional countries become members of the EU, this is also of great importance for tourism. Tourism flows will not change over night, though, according to the experts on the international conference „A new Tourism for a new Europe“ at ITB 2004. But intensified media attention, easier boarder crossing and money from the European structural funds offer good chances for a growth in tourism. The accession countries want to use these options as efficiently as possible.
“The new countries do not belong to the top-ranking tourism destinations and the EU-Enlargement will not change this situation much“ Dr. Reinhard Klein, head of the European Commission’s tourism unit in Brussels, declares. “But due to the relatively low level of actual demand all new EU countries will experience remarkable growth, significantly above the “old” EU destinations“. Also, domestic tourism is of great importance for the new EU-countries just as it is for the old ones.
“A prerequisite for growth of guest nights from abroad is a better marketing of what we have to offer“ Dr. Adam Zaborowski, vice president of the Polish Tourist Organisation, illustrates. “There are many prejudices that can only be overcome with intense information. Most people in the “old” EU-countries have only one-dimensional images of the new member states and no idea about the wide range of landscapes and products“ Prof. Travis from England emphasises, relying on more than 30 years of experience as a tourism consultant in Central and Eastern European countries.
The tourism representatives from the new EU-countries want to make the best out of the tourism options brought by the EU-membership. “We expect about 10% growth of guest nights in the first year and annually about 9,000 new jobs in tourism” Miroslav Ronèák, head of CzechTourism in Berlin, explains. The expert panellists agreed on that accessibility and tourism infrastructure as well as service must be improved to meet the expectations of foreign guests. Traditional hospitality is not the same thing as professional service. The destinations will focus on fields as different as city breaks, culture holiday, farm holiday/rural tourism, health tourism, active holiday, nature holiday, large events and business tourism to reach their goals. “According to the travel analysis Reiseanalyse of the Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen (F.U.R) 13% of the Germans are planning a trip to Hungary within the next three years, I suppose they have good reasons“
Gábor Galla, director of the Hungarian National Tourist Office, answers when asked for the unique selling proposition“ of Hungary. Jack Coronna, president of the Federation of International Youth Travel Organisations, underlines the importance of tourism, youth tourism in particular, for the unity of Europe’s unity. “Young people have always been the spear head for new developments in tourism“. Curious and keen on getting to know new things, young people are particularly open minded for foreign countries. Coronna mentions short-term working visits of young people in particular, often even in the tourism sector. Travis points to the mature age segment in the Western European countries, eager to spend the cold part of the year in the sunny South and soon discovering the “new“ Mediterranean coasts, e.g. of Slovenia. “All together the 50plus generation is the most important growth market. This segment is of great importance for all new EU members!“.
The strategy of the accession country representatives on the panel is to try to focus on both short-term trends and long-term planning. It is important to reach quick growth, therefore marketing of well known products and existing clichés is necessary. In contrast, the long-term goal of the countries is to steer tourism to less known areas. “These decisions should always be based on sound market analyses“ Klein comments the difficult balance between these two alternatives. The question of responsibility in tourism development is discussed with respect to possible conflicting objectives. According to Galla “The government is responsible for a sustainable development, in close co-operation with the national tourism authority“. “EU-enlargement means clearly not only options, but also responsibilities“ Travis states. “The challenge is to open up the new destinations at the right scale for both nature and locals“.
The new EU-countries are interesting as “new“ destinations. But they also become increasingly valuable as source markets. “We expect no sudden increase, but stable growth starting in 2005“ Fritz Baumgartner, head of TUI Polska, announces. “The Polish love to travel. But due to a high unemployment rate of 18% and a weak Zloty the past two years have been very difficult. We do hope however that the EU-membership will serve as a signal. Prices are especially relevant for success, the Polish are the wildest discount hunters“. According to Baumgartner “The chances for incoming e.g. for Poland are definitely better then outgoing business due to the unbalanced income situation of new and old EU-states”.
The role of the European Commission is to support the development process, but not to steer it. “We help the new ones to become integrated in the Union. We do not make tourism politics for single countries“ Klein underlines. Tourism is part of the wide range of promotion programs. The single countries are responsible for the concrete use of the funds. “I believe that local tourism businesses need to display their interests more clearly. The steering role from the side of the state should become less important” Klein comments the situation. The EU-enlargement means economic chances for everyone and also the possibility of an increasing European integration. “The felt distances between neighbours will decline through an increase in travelling“ Prof. Dr. Martin Lohmann, chairman of the conference, underlines. “The range of possible actions to be taken is wide, this applies for tourism politics and tourism businesses, but also for the tourists. This makes future exciting. The tourism actors have shown that they claim to use this range of options and that they are aware of their responsibility for a fair and sustainable development“.
The following persons participated in the panel discussion, chaired by Prof. Dr. Martin Lohmann, head of the Institut für Tourismus- und Bäderforschung in Nordeuropa (N.I.T.), Kiel:
Dr. Reinhard Klein, Head of Tourism Unit, European Commission, Brussels
Fritz Baumgartner, Director, Hungarian National Tourist Office
Jack Coronna, President, Federation of International Youth Travel Organisations
Dr. Gábor Galla, Director, Hungarian National Tourist Office
Miroslav Ronèák, Geschäftsführer, CzechTourism Berlin
Prof. Dr. Anthony Travis, Tourism Consultant (UK)
Dr. H. Adam Zaborowski, Deputy President, Polish Tourist Organisation
